Nowhere We Can Hide
by pinktink008
Summary: After meeting Renesmee Cullen, Aro decides that he wants a hybrid of his own for the Volturi coven. Enter Katherine Montgomery, an American on vacation with friends, who gets caught up in the trap that Aro lies to find the right woman to carry the hybrid child. Some H/C and Felix/OC romance to come in later chapters. WIP. A mash-up of the movie and book 'verses.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: I don't own _Twilight_ or any of the characters. I certainly didn't make any money from writing this either. I did this with love for the characters created by Stephenie Meyer. The only character(s) that belongs to me would be Katherine Montgomery and the people from her life. The idea just came to me one day and I wanted to get it down while I remembered so I hope that you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Reviews are always welcomed!

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><p>Darkness giving way to dim candlelight. These things were old friends to him.<p>

Silence. It too was a dear friend and it left him room to be alone with his thoughts.

Floor to ceiling shelves. Dusty books. Ancient scrolls. These things meant nothing to him at the moment.

All of these things seemed to surround the dark-haired ancient vampire but none of these things held his attention. He wasn't looking for a text to back up the thoughts dancing around in his head. There was no scroll that held what Aro sought. He didn't even worry about where his wife happened to be at the moment. Sulpicia was safe and well taken care of. She had company to keep her satisfied after all. That was all that he cared about. He had no need for her companionship at the moment.

Aro sat in his room, alone and lost in his thoughts. This was when he could be the most dangerous however. He was thinking, plotting, planning. When he got an idea in mind, the ancient vampire could be more stubborn than anyone in history. His mind was turning as he tried to come up with the proper plan to execute to get what he wanted most at the moment. He couldn't have Isabella and Edward Cullen or Alice Cullen for that matter although he wanted to add them to his coven. There was also Zafrina and Benjamin. Their extraordinary gifts would be incredible additions to the Volturi coven. That much was clear to him now that he had met them. Their own covens would fight to keep them but that wouldn't stop him from trying. Aro knew that he would have his turn, that if he waited long enough that he would get what he wanted the most. It would just take some time and a better plan than he had put forth before.

No, that wasn't what the ancient vampire wanted the most right now. What he wanted right now was what the Cullen clan had. He wanted his own human-vampire hybrid. He couldn't allow another family to have something that seemed that powerful without having something similar himself. He couldn't allow any other coven to seem like they were more powerful than the Volturi after all. No one would fall into line if they thought that Aro, Caius and Marcus were losing their hold on their world. They wouldn't continue to be the most powerful coven, the law for their supernatural world, if the Cullens were allowed to appear to have the upper hand in any way. They had already caused Aro to back down once. Now he knew that he needed to get his hands on a hybrid of his own.

The one thing that he could think to do was to bring women in to the tower, sort through them and find someone acceptable. He was, after all, going to be quite picky about the identity of the mother of this hybrid. He wanted the woman to be someone with the potential to have a supernatural gift should she be turned. That way he would be able to fold her into the coven as well should she survive as Isabella Swan had survived the birth of Reneesme Cullen. Aro wasn't as concerned with that part of the plan however.

His preference for father, other than himself, would be Alec or Demetri but he had no idea if that would work out as he had it planned. While he could bind the woman to whomever he wanted, Aro did want it to be her choice. He wanted it to be as natural as could be expected, given the circumstances that he knew that he'd be putting her through. Then again, he knew that the right woman could potentially create a powerful hybrid even with someone such as Felix as the father. It would take some convincing but he thought that he could send Heidi out to gather potential women. He would have to sort through them but if he found one, Aro knew that he could find a place to keep her in the tower until he found the right vampire mate. Eventually he would tie the two togother with Chelsea's help if that was what it took.

The ancient vampire briefly considered the possibility that the woman could live through the birth much like Bella had as well. If that happened, Aro hoped that he found a woman who would come through the process of becoming immortal with a powerful gift. That was something that he could plan for though. He knew if he found the right woman that they would know if she might come through with an ability, a gift of her own. Someone who had a gift in their human life would likely come through with a gift in their immortal life after all. Aro knew he'd only have one shot at making sure that the hybrid that was created was talented in his or her own , right though. That would just mean that he would have to try again if the first attempt failed. Assuming that he could try even once.

As he sat, planning what his first move would be, Aro realized one thing. For this to be successful, he had to find a willing victim first. While he could perhaps use Corin to make the woman content with being there, he thought that he might have the most success with someone who was willing even without any kind of supernatural assistance. That wasn't going to be easy but he knew that somewhere out there he would find the right subject for his plans.


	2. Chapter 2

Katherine Montgomery stretched out on the plush dark brown couch in her best friend's cream-colored living room. She turned her head and some of her wavy blond hair fell into her blue eyes. She watched as Mia, her best friend, rushed around the room, trying to find something. Katherine always had to laugh at how scatterbrained her friend could be but that was one of those things that seemed to make their friendship work. Where Mia was loud and outgoing, Katherine was a little more reserved. Mia could bring her out of her shell and Katherine could calm her best friend down again. Where Mia tended to forget everything, Katherine was organized to almost a fault. They balanced each other out and the petite blond was thankful for that.

"I really need to find my wallet. Have you seen it, Katie?" Mia asked as she rifled through some papers on the table next to her friend. She glanced over once, her own blond hair falling perfecting in front of one eye. She blew out a puff of breath to try to get it out of her eyes before finally tucking it behind her ear. "It's important."

"How did you manage to misplace your wallet? Why isn't it in your purse?" Katherine asked, her amusement right at the edge of her voice. She sat up and slipped the black ponytail holder off of her small wrist before tying back her shoulder length hair. "You'd lose your head if it wasn't attached."

Mia pouted prettily and shrugged one shoulder. "I took it out when I set up our hotel reservations and then I put it …" She chewed on her full, bottom lip as she tried to retrace her steps in her own mind. She slowly straightened up and smoothed her hands down the front of her Aerosmith t-shirt before placing her hands on her shapely hips. "It should have been right here. I was sitting on the couch when I …"

Katherine dug her hand between the cushions of the couch before producing a bright yellow Fendi wallet from between two of the couch cushions with a triumphant smirk. She even gave it a wiggle before Mia was able to grab it away. "So it wound up in the couch. Now what hotel reservations are you even talking about? I don't remember us talking about going on any vacation together," she said, her smirk slowly becoming a thoughtful frown.

Mia snatched the wallet from her friend's hand and grinned before letting herself fall right back onto the couch. "I booked us a trip to Venice to celebrate the fact that you finally left that idiot," she said as she patted the cushion next to her. She tucked her legs under her shapely frame and turned toward her best friend. "You haven't been on a trip in forever, Katie, and neither of us really did anything for our birthdays this year. I figured this would be a good present to give myself and to give to you. You can handle our airfare."

Katherine let out a sigh as she fell back onto the couch beside her friend although she did so with far less grace than Mia seemed to have. She closed her blue eyes and placed a hand over them, shaking her head slightly. This was just like Mia, planning an exotic trip for the two of them without consulting her first. The thing was that the petite blond knew that she'd go along with the plan without a word. She'd order their airline tickets and head out with Mia whenever it was that her friend set this up. Mia was the leader after all and Katherine just followed behind her.

Slowly she turned her head toward her friend, her hand falling away as she opened her eyes. "When do we leave?" she asked, her tone rather bland.

Mia let out an excited squeal and bounced a little in her seat, clapping her hands excitedly. She didn't even blink as her wallet fell to the floor. "Two weeks from now," she said with a bright grin on her full, red lips. "You can make it happen, right? Right, Katie?"

Elizabeth frowned deeply before nodding. "I can make it happen. I work miracles, Mee, remember?"

Mia was grinning, bouncing with excitement. "You will? Oh thank goodness!" she said, almost squealing with delight. "I thought that you might end up telling me to go to hell or something. You're going to love the hotel that I picked out. The views look amazing online. We're going to have so much fun eating way too much Italian food and drinking too much wine. Maybe we'll even have a fling or two with some hunky Italian men while we're there." She wiggled her dark blond eyebrows with a smirk on her full lips.

Katherine let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, brushing some of the hair from her forehead. "Neither of us even speaks Italian. Well not well anyway," she said with a shrug. The truth was that she did speak some Italian. It was Mia who was incapable of speaking the language. That meant that she would be expecting Katherine to do all of the talking while they were there although she had the feeling that her friend would have no problem flirting even with the language barrier. "I better brush up on my Italian. I'll get the airline tickets sorted out tomorrow and then I'll sort out taking time off from work. You're lucky that I have vacation time set aside that I haven't used yet."

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><p><strong>AN: **Thank you guys already for checking out this story. I apologize if it's slow going but I'm trying to make this interesting. I hope. Hopefully you all will stick with me to see where this story is going to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been dealing with some writer's block but I'm doing my best to get more of this done. The idea has been living in my brain for some time and I just want to get it out and get it right. The fact that this little story already has 3 reviews, 7 favorites, 13 followers and 345 views surprises me to no end. I didn't think I'd even get that much for this so thank you all. Please be patient with me. I'm sorry that this is such a short chapter but I hope that you enjoy it anyway. I hope to update again soon.

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><p>Katherine looked at the small, black and white polka dot suitcase that she had opened on her bed and let out a heavy sigh. While she had gotten the time off from work rather easily and had even set up and paid for the flight for her and her best friend, the one thing that she hadn't done was pack for this whirlwind trip. Now that she only had a day to pack, she realized that procrastination wasn't going to make this any easier. It wasn't going to get her out of the trip either because she knew that Mia would show up and throw everything into a suitcase for her.<p>

"Alright, Kate. You can do this," she soft said, trying to psych herself up to pack.

Her delicate hands were on her small hips as she let out a sigh as she tried to figure out how she was going to go about this. It shouldn't be that hard to pack a suitcase but right now Katherine had no idea what she was going to take with her on this trip. The pep talk wasn't quite working but still she kept trying, staring at the empty suitcase and then glancing in the direction of her closet. Katherine thought that if she told herself that it was going to be okay enough, then she'd start to believe it.

"It's just packing for a trip to Italy," she softly told herself. "It's not that hard to do. You can handle this."

Spending time with Mia wasn't the problem because they went on weekend trips all of the time. They would fly off to Philadelphia or Boston on a whim. They would get a hotel room and spend a weekend pretending to be tourists in New York City. It was always in good fun and by the time they came back home again and headed back to reality, Katherine always felt better for it. The trips were fun for her, rejuvinating even and Mia was always good company.

It wasn't like she had never been out of the country either. That was something that Katherine had done a few times now. Travelling to Europe was something that she did now and then for work and she had gone there for leisure purposes as well. She even went on a trip to Paris with her now ex-boyfriend when they first started dating. Katherine had even been to Italy once as a teenager with her parents although that was going to the Rome and the Vatican because her parents wanted to see Vatican City.

She was excited about going to Italy with her best friend but she couldn't shake this feeling of foreboding that she felt. It was a heaviness on her chest that made it hard to breathe, like a cold stone was resting in her stomach. While the trip sounded fun, she had this strange feeling like she wasn't going to come back if she did go. She knew that Mia wouldn't understand so even that wouldn't be an excuse. Katherine had never been one to believe in superstitious nonsense but she found herself holding the Saint Thomas medallion that her mother had given her after Katherine got a job at the large architecture firm right out of college.

She looked down at the piece of silver in her hand with a frown on her face. Her dark blond brows furrowed as she held the medallion between her index finger and thumb. Somehow it brought her a small sense of comfort to see it although she didn't know why it was. Finally Katherine tucked the necklace under her shirt and turned her attention to packing. She pulled out a larger suitcase, pushing the smaller one to the floor, and unzipped it, opening it on her bed. If she was going to pack, then the petite blond was going to over pack for this trip. She already knew that Mia would have two bags to check and her carry-on. Katherine hoped that she wouldn't be that bad.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Another short one, I'm afraid. We're going to get to some of the exciting stuff soon enough. I promise! I hope you all enjoy the update. Thank you for the 6 reviews, 15 followers, 8 favorites and 631 views. I appreciate each and every one of them.

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><p>Mia showed up two hours before they needed to arrive at the airport, ringing Katherine's doorbell repeatedly to try to get her friend to answer. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for her friend to come to the door. When the taxi driver honked at her, Mia looked back and gave the man a warm smile and a quick wave. It was enough to placate him for the time being. She rang the doorbell twice more before she started to knock on the door as well.<p>

Still tying her hair up in a messy bun, Katherine answered the door with a yawn. She had only just woken up, having pulled on a pair of black yoga pants and a pink t-shirt. Wearing something comfortable seemed like the way to go after all. Mia didn't say a word as she bounded inside, pushing past her friend to grab the large black and white polka dot suitcase that was sitting in the small blond woman's living room. She hauled it out, shooting Katherine an annoyed look over her shoulder as she left. Katherine just yawned again and slipped on a pair of flats as she grabbed for the dark gray and black backpack that she was going to be using as a carry-on. Her purse was inside the backpack since that meant that she'd have less to worry about carrying around at the airport.

She was just a few steps behind her best friend. She noticed that while she was in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, Mia had her makeup done and her hair curled and was wearing skinny jeans and a bright yellow camisole with a white crochet cardigan. Of course that didn't surprise Katherine much. Her best friend would never leave the house without being dressed nicely after all. It was just too early for Katherine to really care about the way that she looked right now. Turning to lock up, she stretched and then headed down to the waiting cab. She saw the trunk was still open so she dropped her backpack inside of it before closing the trunk and slipping into the cab. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and frowned at Mia.

"It should be illegal for you to be such a cheery morning person," Katherine muttered as she leaned her head back once she settled into the back seat of the cab with her friend. "The sun isn't even up yet."

"It's an 11-hour flight. You can sleep on the plane," Mia said, rolling her green eyes. She nudged her friend, grinning as Katherine's head slowly rolled to the side so she could look at her. "It should be like 5 or maybe 6 by the time we get there. Just in time for a snack before we start to explore."

Katherine let out a low groan, her eyes closing again. Sleeping on the plane wasn't something that she was sure that she would be able to do but she knew that she'd try. "It's too damn early in the morning for me to even think about anything like that," she said with a heavy sigh. She hadn't even had a chance to grab a cup of coffee before Mia was calling to say that she was on her way over to get her. Now all the petite blond could think about was getting a large espresso and maybe a small egg and cheese biscuit when they got to the airport. "How can you be so happy right now?"

"Uh, maybe it's because we're going to Italy?" Mia said, almost scoffing at her friend. She shot her a 'well, d'uh' look and even shook her head. "Why aren't you more excited about this, Katie?"

"Maybe because it's four in the freakin' morning and you woke me up an hour ago to tell me to be ready?" Katherine said as she straightened up. She folded her arms across her chest with a sigh. She had barely had time to get dressed and she certainly hadn't had time to put her contact lenses in which was why she was wearing her black plastic rimmed glasses right now. Compared to Mia, she knew that she looked like a mess and Katherine really couldn't be bothered to care about that either. "I'm excited about this, Mia. I promise. I'm just not ... You know I'm not an early riser. Not like this anyway."

"I told you to go to bed early. It's not my fault that you probably went to bed after midnight," Mia said with another roll of her eyes. She looked over at Katherine and offered her friend a small smile as the cab started to slip into traffic. "I'll buy you breakfast when we get to the airport. Will that make up for it?"

Katherine had a thoughtful look on her face before nodding. Her body relaxed a bit as she turned her head to watch the buildings pass by on the way to the JFK Airport. "It'll help," she finally said with a shrug. "I'm expecting an incredible first meal when we get to Italy though. Pasta. Wine. Gelato. All of it."

The grin on Mia's face grew and she nodded, watching Katherine for a moment. "You got it. I promise. The first meal is on me and it'll be spectacular. I promise," she said, nodding enthusiastically.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I appreciate those of you who have been coming around to read this story. I'm amazed that it's even getting any attention at all! Sorry for the lack of updates. The muse for this story has been rather hit or miss but I'm trying to get the story done or at least get something rolling for it so I can hopefully update it more often. Anyway here's the update for those of you who are reading! Thank you for the 8 reviews, 10 favorites, 23 followers and 1326 views! Thank you so much!

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><p>Katherine tossed the wrapper from her breakfast sandwich into the nearest trash can. Then she got in line to get a second cup of coffee. The first hadn't had nearly enough caffeine for the blond. Then again it had just been a small coffee from McDonalds, something to wash down the egg and cheese McMuffin and hash browns that she had gotten. Now that she got some food in her stomach, she at least felt more alert right now. Mia had turned up her nose at what Katherine ordered and promptly wandered off to find something else to eat instead. Now Katherine was in line at Starbucks to get an espresso and she was debating the merits of adding a shot of espresso to her drink.<p>

She ordered the coffee and took a step to the side, checking her fell phone to see if Mia was freaking out about anything right now. Katherine dropped an extra dollar in the tip cup after grabbing her venti espresso with another shot of espresso. Holding the cup in both of her hands, she took a deep breath to breathe in the delicious scent of the coffee with a small smile. Katherine wandered slowly over to the gate where she and Mia would be boarding their plane in about 20 minutes, give or take. Mia handed her best friend a cinnamon chip muffin which Katherine slipped into her backpack so she could nibble on it on the plane. Her friend laughed at that and then leaned toward Katherine, resting her head on the smaller blond's shoulder.

"We're going to have so much fun. I can tell already," she said with her green eyes closed for a moment. Mia sat up and turned in the chair she was sitting in so she could give her friend her complete attention now. "I brought an English-Italian phrase book with me. I think. I'm pretty sure I put it in my suitcase." For a moment Mia bit her full bottom lip and a worried look flashed across her features. It only lasted a moment before a smile graced her lips, shrugging her shoulders quickly. "I don't think we'll have trouble with the language barrier though. Two gorgeous blond bombshells wandering around Italy? We're giong to end up with a line of Italian men waiting to talk to us."

Katherine laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. She knew that Mia would probably have men lining up to talk to her. Mia was the blond bombshell between the two of them with an hourglass figure and a bubbly personality to match. Katherine didn't have the same luck with men as he best friend and she attributed that to the fact that she wasn't one to take to the spotlight. She wasn't the center of attention and Katherine seemed to like it that way. Still she knew that she wouldn't say no if some guy started to flirt with her. Right about now she knew that she could use the ego boost after all. It had been a rather messy breakup and somewhat of a one-sided relationship so if she could find even one guy who showed any interest in her, Katherine knew she would probably jump at the chance to talk to him.

"Don't worry. I speak passable Italian. I learned it awhile ago," Katherine said with a shrug. She smiled softly and took a sip of her coffee. Extra espresso would probably leave her wired for a bit but right now she felt like she needed it. The food might have perked her up a bit but she was going to need the energy boost that espresso was bound to give her. The blond didn't think her best friend was going to let her nap when they got to Italy after all. "It's what you keep me around for."

Mia frowned as she looked at her friend, shaking her head. She truly hated it when Katherine put herself down after all. "Don't you start with all that self-loathing bullshit," she said, wagging her index finger at Katherine's face. "We've been friends since the second grade. Hasn't mattered what we've been through. We've been by each other's side through it all. I hear you say that you're not this enough or not that enough one more time and I'm going to end up smacking you right in the back of the head."

Katherine sighed, shifting when she heard that their plane was getting ready to board. Thankfully she was saved by boarding announcements because she really didn't want to get into some kind of argument with her best friend at the moment. This, at least, gave her an excuse to get walk away before it became an argument. Katherine looked around, spotting the nearest public restroom. "I'll be back by the time we have to get on the plane. You know how I am with planes," she said with a bit of a frown, setting her cup down on the chair after she stood up. She was expressly ignoring what Mia said, hurrying off before her best friend could make a comment.

Katherine rushed into a stall so she could go to the bathroom. She was never one to get up a lot while on a plane, even on a long flight. She knew that she'd have no choice but to get up at least once but that was the reason that she was making a pit stop now. Once she finished, she hurried to the sink to wash her hands. Looking up, the blond frowned at her reflection, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She even splashed some cool water on her face, patting it dry with a paper towel. Digging out some lip gloss from the purse inside her backpack, she applied it and then sighed again. Katherine knew that she still wasn't presentable but it was better than looking like she was a member of the walking dead.

When she got back to the gate, Mia was tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Katherine to come back. She waved her over and hurried her friend onto the plane. The smaller blond let out a heavy sigh, grabbing her coffee and taking one last drink. She tossed the nearly empty cup into the trash and then boarded the plane with her best friend. Mia hooked her arm with Katherine's as they walked down the corridor to get onto the plane. They found their seats with the help of a flight attendant and Katherine quickly pulled out her iPad before she stuffed her backpack under her seat.

Mia rolled her eyes at that and tucked her carry-on bag into the overhead compartment before settling into her seat next to Katherine. "What do you think you're doing with that thing?" she said, gesturing to the piece of electronics in her best friend's hands.

Katherine looked at her iPad and shrugged. It was still turned off and she wouldn't turn it on until an announcement was made that it was okay for them to turn on any electronic devices. She knew that she wasn't going to get much sleep on the flight so this would be a good way to pass the time. "I have music on here and some books that I want to read. Plus I was going to brush up on my Italian. I found a ..."

Mia immediately held her up hand and shook her head. Her best friend's 'nerdy' tendencies sometimes overwhelmed her after all. "Stop right there. I don't want to hear anymore about it," she said, her tone rather exasperated. "Do whatever you want to do but please don't go all nerd on me. I don't want to hear about it."

Katherine rolled her blue eyes and let out a heavy sigh. She wanted to snap back that at least she was going to do something useful with the time that they had on the plane but instead she just settled in, watching as Mia put a sleep mask on. The smaller blond buckled up and looked out the window after tucking her iPad into the back of the seat in front of her. If Mia wasn't going to talk during the flight, then Katherine was going to enjoy the solitude for as long as she could.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I apologize for the lack of updates and for how short this one is. I'm trying to stay a couple of chapters ahead of myself so it's not until I finish a new chapter that I put one up here as well. I know it's slow going to get Katherine where we all want her but she's getting there. I promise! Thank you again for the 9 reviews, 28 followers, 14 favorites and 1745 views on this story. You guys rock!

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><p>Aro sat on his throne, looking rather bored with the group of young woman who were being paraded into the room for him. While he had informed Caius and Marcus of his plans to create a vampire-human hybrid (or at least facilitate that creation), neither seemed interested in his plans. Even now they sat there indifferently as Aro sorted through the young women that Heidi brought to him. While each seemed to have physical characteristics that were appealing, none seemed to have the fight that he hoped to find in a potential mother for this hybrid. None of them had any inkling of an ability either.<p>

Still he gave Alec, Demetri and even Felix a chance to look over the women as well. It was his hope that one of them might take to one of the women that happened to be there at the moment. That would help to speed this process along although Aro was getting the distinct feeling that no one in this group would work, just as none of the women in the last group seemed to work for his purposes either. While Alec seemed to take a liking to a redhead that seemed slightly less afraid than the others, it was clear that the younger vampire merely saw her as a plaything. That wasn't what Aro was looking for so with a wave of his hand, he allowed all in attendance to freely feed on the young women that were present.

Even the screams didn't seem to put him at ease. This was proving to be far more difficult than he had anticipated. Finding a woman that suited the needs that he had wasn't as simple as bringing a sampling of young women to the tower. There was always the off chance that he could allow the three that he had in mind as the father of the hybrid to go out and seek a mate but Aro was aware that would have its consequences. While Felix, Alec and Demetri were tied to this coven, he knew that sending them out might mean that none of them would return. Actually Alec was the only one of the three that Aro felt with any certainty would return again. There was always the chance that any of them could be discovered as well.

He let out a soft sigh, watching the feeding frenzy that was going on a few feet from him. He felt the slight burning of his own thirst but Aro didn't move from his throne. He wasn't surprised when one of the guard brought three of the women who hadn't yet been fed upon up for himself, Caius and Marcus. Still Aro wore a mask of indifference as he pulled the young blond to himself, feeding from her until she body ceased to move, until he was certain that her heart had beat for the last time. He let the body fall to the floor and sighed yet again.

Even as the others continued to feed, he rose to his feet and left the room, followed by some member of the guard. It wasn't as if he was paying attention at the moment. His mind was spinning with too many thoughts right now for him to worry about something as frivolous as the name of the person following him. It wasn't as if Aro wasn't safe within the walls of his own home here in Volterra. This was the safest place in the world for him after all. No one would be foolish enough to try to come for him while he was there.

As he wandered, he began wondering if his plan wasn't doomed to fail. That wasn't something that he had considered before now. Edward and Bella had created this hybrid child without realizing that it could even occur. To attempt to force such a thing to happen might have been his downfall. The idea that there could be a downside to what he was doing wasn't something that he had considered. This plan had to succeed because Aro wouldn't allow any coven to seem any more powerful than the Volturi.

He stopped at a window that looked out over the entire city. It was a quiet night but the natives of Volterra had a healthy fear for those that lived in this tower. They knew not to spend too much time out at night. Perhaps they believed that the city was free of vampires but they also knew that there was something sinister out there and they were wise enough, for humans, to know to keep their distance from this place and to keep inside as the night wore on. Aro watched the silent streets for some time, standing as still as a statue, his hands resting on the window sill.

It seemed to be ages before he moved again, heading back now to his chambers. While he was no closer to finding an answer to his current dilemma, Aro knew that if he waited long enough, something was bound to happen. Patience was one virtue that he still had and he felt as if it might pay off this time. Maybe he didn't find a suitable mate for Alec, Demetri or Felix this time but there was always the chance that one such woman would make herself known to the Volturi soon enough.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I know that updates have been slow all around for my stories and I apologize. I've been busy and muses have been scarce but I'm trying to update now! I've started writing again and I hope to have another update sooner rather than later. I hope you enjoy the update and the way the story is coming together. Don't worry. Things should pick up soon enough. Enjoy!

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><p>Mia had practically pushed her way off of the plane once they had landed. She had been the one to grab her suitcases and Katherine's suitcase from the turnstyle after they both got off of the plane. She elbowed her way through the crowds to get the two of them everywhere that they needed to go as they made their way through the airport. Mia had even gotten them a cab to their hotel once they were ready to leave the airport. For her part, Katherine had let her friend be the force of nature that she knew Mia could be. She followed behind her friend, blending in to the crowd as they moved from place to place. It seemed easier that way and it meant that she didn't have to push her way through any lines herself. Mia was always better at getting through the most crowded places without leaving her best friend behind so Katherine was content to do things the way that they always did them.<p>

When they finally reached the hotel, Mia wanted nothing more than to drop off their suitcases before taking off to see some sites and maybe even grab something to eat but Katherine had a headache and she begged her friend to let them try to take a nap. She hadn't slept much the night before and it was all starting to weigh on Katherine although Mia didn't seem happy. Katherine was far too tired but be dragged around all of Venice right now. Mia had tried pouting. When that didn't work, she had tried bribery. Finally Mia gave up and flopped on one of the beds while, Katherine slipped out of her shoes and climbed under the covers, happy to get a little rest.

"You're going to be a party pooper," Mia complained. She was pouting and even used her best 'whiny' voice. "Aren't you? This is going to be the way the whole trip is going to go. Isn't it?"

Katherine pulled the blanket over her head and let out a low groan in response. It wasn't that she didn't want to explore. She just didn't have the energy to do any of that. She turned away from her friend, keeping her back to the other woman. If she didn't look, then she wouldn't see the pout that Mia had perfected years ago. If Katherine didn't see the pout, then Mia couldn't influence her to get up right now.

"Lemme sleep," she said, her voice muffled by the blanket and thick with a desire for sleep. "Jus' ... like ... twenty minutes."

Mia tugged at the blanket that was over her best friend's head with a pout. "This is why I told you to sleep on the plane! Didn't you sleep at all while we were flying here?" she asked as she finally peeled back the blanket.

Katherine brushed the mess of blond hair that ended up in her face, staring up at the ceiling with a heavy sigh. "Maybe like an hour. Or two." She wasn't entirely sure how much sleep she had gotten although she had taken a short nap. It didn't seem like she was going to get a nap now either. Not if Mia kept this sort of thing up. "Can you please just give me a half hour, tops, to get some rest? Then I'll let you drag me all around. Hell, by then I'll be ready to get some espresso and maybe a sandwich and everything. I just want to make this headache go away."

Mia huffed out a breath, hands on her shapely hips as she rolled her blue eyes. "I'll go see if they have some aspirin or something somewhere in case that might help," she said with a nod. If Katherine wouldn't come with her, she'd do a little exploration on her own. The aspirin were just an excuse, a formality to explain why she was leaving the hotel room. "Just don't get too comfortable."

Katherine pulled the blanket over her head again with a heavy sigh. She knew already that Mia wasn't going to let this drop. Still she closed her eyes and waited to hear the door close behind her best friend. Maybe she could manage a short nap while Mia was out of the room. It might only be 15 minutes but right now 15 minutes of sleep sounded like it would be pure bliss.


End file.
